These Black Lives Didn’t Matter To Corey Lynn King

Do black lives matter? Apparently they didn’t matter to 24 year-old Corey Lynn King who in 2008 brutally murdered a Lancaster woman and her three daughters before setting their house on fire and stealing the family’s car.

According to Los Angeles County prosecutors King stabbed 43 year-old Sonia Harris more than 60 times, cut her throat, and fractured her skull. He then stabbed her 13 year-old daughter Ebony more than 60 times, including 7 fatal stab wounds to the chest. Eleven year-old Melinda was stabbed 12 times and bashed in the head with a metal pot. The body of 9 year-old Kayla was so badly burned that medical examiners could not determine if she had been stabbed, but they were able to determine that she had been strangled.

Black lives do matter to the Los Angeles County jury that heard the case and deliberated just three hours before finding King guilty of first degree murder, torture, and arson. The jury also concluded that the circumstances of the killings warranted the death penalty.

King is scheduled to be formally sentenced in February.

This case is just one example, anecdotal perhaps, of black-on-black crime in this country. Do you really think it mattered to Sonia Harris or her daughters that their killer was also black? I doubt it. Would they have welcomed the help of a white police officer during the assault? I have no doubt they would.

The point I am making is that crime is crime regardless of who perpetrates the crime, and the victims all suffer the same regardless of their race. The police – white, black, Hispanic, Asian, or whatever – are there to protect all of us. I don’t know the racial composition of the Prosecutors Office or of the jury that heard the case, but I doubt either was all black, yet the case was apparently properly prosecuted and the jury returned a fair verdict.

The system worked.

If Al Sharpton and his crew really wanted to make a difference in the lives of black families he would turn his efforts to battling the crimes that are committed against black people by others in their own community rather than focusing on the handful of incendiary events that grab the headlines. He won’t do that of course, because that task would be difficult, often thankless, unprofitable, and would rarely garner him the television time he wants.

There are people who most of us don’t know who are working towards those ends. Some of them are ministers, some are social workers, some are just good neighbors, but most are just loving parents who work hard to make sure their kids are in school, come home to do their homework, and stay off the streets at night. I wonder how helpful it is to them to have Al Sharpton inspired riots in their neighborhoods burning down businesses they depend on, and attacking the police officers that are trying to keep their neighborhoods safe. If you gathered all the people whose lives have been improved by these people on one side of the street and those whose lives have been improved by the antics of Al Sharpton, which side do you think would have the bigger crowd?

About James P Willis

James P Willis lives with his family in Blacksburg, Virginia. He is a Cold War submarine veteran, political activist, and retired industrial mechanic. James is currently an Editor / Contributor for NewsNinja2012, a freelance writer, and his blog can be found at www.The-Conservative-Underground.com.